Tech and critical Infrastructure

In the past week alone, we have seen the impact tech has on critical Australian infrastructure, having faced, a widespread Optus outage affecting millions, to a cybersecurity incident shutting down major sea ports operated by DP World.

These incidents have raised questions about the nation's reliance on technology, especially, seeing the affect the network outage had on rail lines, EFTPOS systems and triple 000 calls. I wanted to cover the challenges we will face if we don't make changes soon.

The Optus Outage

The recent Optus outage really put a spanner in the works for millions of Australians, affecting everything from communication to commerce. Businesses, including cafes and restaurants, faced EFTPOS machine failures, resulting in a loss of customers and revenue. Those dependent on digital transactions found themselves unable to make purchases.

It's looking like it was the core layer that was affected, and caused the outage, which is why it affected so many. Had it been the access layer, we we'd not be having this discussion.

The outage lasted 14-16 hours for some, which not much communication in the interim and the consequence of all this? It's looking like all major telco's will now need to sign off on a new or updated cyber risk management program, or be faced with fines (very large fines..) These rules are already in place within hospitals and trades, but to extend this across to telco's is massive, and the Optus outage has shown why it's necessary.

The DP World Cybersecurity Incident

On a separate front, a cybersecurity incident at major sea ports operated by DP World has raised concerns about the country's trade and logistics. The decision to shut down container terminals in Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Fremantle has disrupted imports and exports, causing significant delays. So if you're planning on Christmas shopping, then I'd think again! The incident comes as the latest in a series of cybersecurity events in Australia, following attacks on a cryptocurrency exchange, a data breach at Pizza Hut, and a disclosure of a breach at Dymocks.

The DP World incident highlights the increasing vulnerability of critical infrastructure to cyber threats. The disruption not only affects the movement of goods but also raises questions about the resilience of Australia's technological systems. The ACSC and Minister of Home Affairs, are actively engaged in investigating the incident. The fact that they moved quickly on this, and made the decision to essentially 'pull the plug' has left ships stuck at sea and port, and will inevitable slow down import and export over the coming month.

This serves as a reminder of the ongoing need for, backup systems, disaster recovery and business contingency plans to ensure the resilience of trade infrastructure.

The recent tech disruptions in Australia, from the Optus outage to the DP World cybersecurity incident, have sparked discussions about the nation's reliance on technology and the challenges that come with it.

The new law that is coming into play from the minister of home affairs, and their current proactive response and involvement is a very positive sign.

It will be interesting to see this play out, and the consequences that will come of it.